DTXtreme II vs TD-20

[WildWes]

TAKnipe,

I posted this for you in the the DTXperience.com forum, but thought I'd give it a shot here too.

I see you use a Roland TD20 and DTXtreme II module on your kit. Could you explain how you use (connect/assign sounds) these modules on your kit? Also, since you own/use both modules, in your opinion is the positional sensoring of the Roland module worth the higher price over the DTXtreme II module? I ask as I've never played a Roland set and this feature (amongst a few others) seems to be a "must have" to those that frequent vdrums.com. Thanks.

Oh yeah, what part of Joisy? I lived in Burlington County (Fort Dix/Mount Holly area) for eight years before moving to Georgia. It's just not the same - Hahahaha

[TAKnipe]

Hi Wes, Welcome to the forum, I think I gave you a short answer at DTXperience, I have both modules connected and run most of the cymbals through the Yamaha and most of the Toms and snares through the TD-20. In my opinion the P S is not worth the extra money. Its nice but there are other features I wish came with the TD-20. Like 3 way triggering and more sound choices. And sampling with real acoustic sounds.

I have always thought that each had alot to offer but if I was to pick one kit I couldnt live without it would be the Yamaha. I spoke with a Hart Tech to inquire about setting to use the Hart Multipad with my Xtreme 2s and he said they gave up because the module is just too complicated. I thought that was interesting and amusing.

One of the main reasons I started this forum was to promote the idea of a shared sense of community where we are all sharing and not taking potshots at the others but trying to come together and share ideas to make each module better. I guess if hypothetically the TD-20 had better sounds well then one could sample all those sounds and use them with the Xtreme2s.

Wes I do think there will be upgrades to both lines very very soon which will make the question more interesting.

I want to explore this further maybe tommorow evening. Thanks again and welcome to the forum, Tom K

[OverLord]

How effective is the sampling on the XTremeIIs? Is it easy to import? Can you expand the memory?

[TAKnipe]

Contrary to popular belief, you can keep samples on the smart media card and load them from there. The load automatically by powering up and having the card in the slot. The feature is better then alot of people make it out to be but could be a great feature if the expand on it with the Xtreme 3. The internal memory is limited to 95 seconds at cd quality, which isnt bad. But you can do alot with that 95 seconds, rarely would you need to sample a whole kit, I use it for certain pieces like snares and cymbals although there are alot of sampled cymbals in their allready. I think also I would like to sample certain percussion instruments like woodblock sets and cowbells to use as complete sets.

I have a complete sampled kit of John Bonham and it sounds great. It was a selling tool and was done by Yamaha and I was fortunate enough to be allowed to have one. Since I dont have the pads any longer (looking for p65's) I will send the file to someone who can load it and try it out on a recording so we can hear it. Seems like the best way. Maybe Kevincool will do it for us?? Kevin?? My plan is to eventually sample my TD-20 sounds that I like and gig with a modified Xtreme kit. I love the acoustic samples onboard they seem so real and the cymbals are nice also. The funny thing is that both modules are great in their own right.

[kevincool87]

I'd love to do it for you Tom, but I haven't bought a SM card yet D:
I wasn't able to sample any real drum sounds and the ones I found on the internet had only one sound... I'd need atleast 3 samples of a sound to make it real. Plus finding a SM card is really hard in Australia.... and where I did find one, they sold it for $50 or something - for a 64MB card. I can buy a 1GB Transflash card for that amount!

Anyway you should ask Jack or other folks at dtxperience - they've done enormous number of recordings with their Monthly DTX AllStar Jams :)

[Tom Tom]

Hey there edrumforum, TomTom here.

To Overlord, I'm glad you asked about importing. I personally find it easier to sample (for all occasions except on some loop samplers - namely RS7000) using my computer, then editing the wave until finished and loading or importing it to wherever - such as DTXTREMEIIS. On DTXIIS you need to name the samples with 8 characters and the three letter extension (.aif or .wav). The first two characters denote sample number, next character denotes which volume slider affects level of that sample. It works great and the DTXIIS will read any loop points that I set in my software (Wavelab or Peak). Granted 8MB isn't a ton of RAM, but its 8MB more than the other company and I can get a lot of short stereo drum sounds at once with that much memory.

Having the sample ability on the module is cool, I suppose I'd use it if that were the only thing available. I'll just keep using import until I need to sample in the module. Hope that helps.

[TAKnipe]

Hey Tom Tom, We would like to extend you our warmest welcome. After looking at this over and over, I have to ask, if a cd quality is 16 bit why would we need larger samples if always being reduced to 16:44? I guess I dont get it, I understand that id you go from 24 and mix down to 16 it makes a beeter track but for live performance can the audience tell if I was using 16 bit samples? That I highlly doubt.

I tested both modules out of the box with amplification and found that the xtreme 2s was the more gig ready of the 2 modules without any outside enhancements. Even with a vex pack the 20 needs more tweaking when running through amplification. Just my humble opinion.

Now if I can just finish a RHP type of pad I will, darn it ;D

[kevincool87]

I'll just post here rather than starting another thread....

Does anyone know if I can trigger samples in my pc(BFD etc.) from my DTXtreme IIs, with a usb-usb cable? Or do I need a usb-MIDI cable?
It says on the manual that the usb connection is a bi-lateral connection meaning both the module and the pc can send and receive MIDI data. But it doesn't say if it's just a plain usb cable or a usb to MIDI cable.
Hence if I can only use usb-MIDI cables, it wouldn't be a bi-lateral connection, just a one-way connection.

I'm just curious because I remember reading somewhere that I can only send MIDI data with either a MIDI cable or a usb-MIDI cable, not a usb-usb cable.

Thanks
Kev

[Tom Tom]

I'll answer TAKnipe's question first, which is "can the audience tell if I was using 16-bit samples"?

I'm sure there is an excellent joke in there relating to the audience's mental state at each stage in the evening - but let's keep it friendly. In my opinion, most 'regular folks' in an audience just want to hear good sounding music and could care less what bit-depth and sample rate you use. This is further eveidenced by the popularity of those mp3 players. 16-bit at 44.1kHz is considered professional sound quality.

For kevincool87: Yes you can use a USB cable to send MIDI data from DTXIIS into BFD. The USB driver needs to be installed correctly (typically while NOT attached to the PC) and you need to select Yamaha USB MIDI-1 as the input port for the track assigned to BFD (channel 10 rule still applies).

Hope that helps, gotta go...

[Golferal]

Hello all! First post here.

I'm sure that the Yamaha Module is capable of great things, but for me the Roland has much better kit sounds out of the box. I currently have both kits (DTXtreme IISs & TD20s) and find the overall quality of the Roland sounds and ease of editing to be far superior on the TD20. And although the Yamaha pads do have three zones, individual volume and pitch control, they're still rubber.

On the hardware side of things, the Yamaha YESS mounts are about as good as you can get. I actually put together a kit using heavy duty Yamaha acoustic drum stands and the "triple tree" mounts for gigs where space was at a premium. When it comes to hardware, the Yamaha is FAR superior the the Roland stuff.

Anyway, just my .02.

[OverLord]

I will go with you on the hardware issue. I have replaced every clamp I got with the TD-20 - they are crap.

[Axe_Grinder]

Yeah, you gave a few of them to me... To be used with care until I decide if I want a drumframe... and for that I give you "WHUFFIE" - lol

I have a whuffie, he is currently laying on his bed next to my bed. He is a loving whuffie. He is a protective woofie. He is a whuffie that has always cared for my children, willing to give his life. Even if it meant destroying 6 screen (no royalties have been paid for the use of these screens) doors a summer. However, he is now an old whuffie and, I believe a very happy whuffie. Mywhuffie is now 13yrs old to be 14 this coming April 1st. Ironically that fits him well as my whuffie is a practical joker... sometimes I would swear my whuffie sits in his corner and laughs at us like [snidely ???] When our whuffie finally goes, the only comfort we will have is that we know we loved our whuffie and our whuffie loved us.

Our whuffie (Thor)

[Axe_Grinder]

HEY!!! Who took some of my whuffie points? At least say you took them. - lol -

I know I had more than 5 before my corny whuffie post.




-R-

[OverLord]

I dodn't take your whuffie, but I am tempted.
1. You necroposted.
2. You posted a picrure that is too dark to see.
3. You refer to your dog as a whuffie. eww saccharin sweet.

[Axe_Grinder]

- lol


"1. You necroposted".

Everything here is new to me - just trying to keep things light. It must have put a smile on someones face.... heh
At least it's a post, not to mention if it lightens one persons day, it was worth it. It's already made two that I know of smile. :D

"2. You posted a picrure that is too dark to see".

Yes and for that I do apologize... However, I didn't have any pics on my drive so I took one with my webcam real quick... I turned on a light, it wasn't enough. I didn't want to disturb my wife sleeping next to me. I was bored, couldn't sleep, grabbed the laptop and went online.

"3. You refer to your dog as a whuffie. eww saccharin sweet".

I know I'm corny - lol - My kids thought it was funny... Maybe cause they're children, but hey after all, I do it all for them, even at the expense of my own dignity. :-[

Hey, we made up a song too. It's called "Thor-py Thor-a-saurus" Want to hear it? - lol


But in the end, all that matters is that you didn't take my whuffie - haha

-R-

[evil1rox]

Careful...there was a Wuffie theif around these parts at one point...

Hell I even held some members Wuffie ransom... GUARD YOUR STASH!!! :o

E1R

(Oh and I just gave you Wuffie... now you owe me 15.)

[OverLord]

I know I'm corny - lol - My kids thought it was funny... Maybe cause they're children, but hey after all, I do it all for them, even at the expense of my own dignity. :-[

Hey, we made up a song too. It's called "Thor-py Thor-a-saurus" Want to hear it? - lol

I just gave you Whuffie for making your kids laugh. They are the most important thing. And I do want to hear "Thor-py Thor-a-saurus"!